Chaplet or rosary



Sept. 3, 1940. M. A. BEEHAN CHAPLET OR ROSARY Filed Nov. 5, 1938 Patented Sept. 3, 1940 UNITEQ STATES PATENT OFFICE CHAPLET R ROSARY Martin A. Beehan, Washington, D. 0.

Application November 5, 1938, Serial No. 239,123

ll Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in chaplets or material forms of rosaries.

The rosary is one of the devotions extensively practiced by Roman Catholics to or in honor of Mary, the mother of Christ, and consists of a number of prescribed prayers arranged in groups each of which calls for meditation on some particular event or mystery in the life of Christ, or of Mary, His mother. While the rosary may be recited or said without any material form of counting device to assist in keeping count of the individual prayers and groups, which occur in frequent repetition, custom and church tradition have provided chaplets, commonly known as rosaries, for convenience in keeping count of the prayers and groups of prayers.

The form of chaplet most widely known and used, is a chain on which the beads are arranged in predetermined order, some usually larger than others to indicate the different prayers and divide the groups which constitute the decades during recitation of which meditation is made on the selected mysteries in the lives of Christ, and Mary, His mother. These devices are subject to the objections of breakage resulting in the loss of beads or of the short straight section to the free end of which is attached a crucifix. The chain chaplets are usually carried loosely in pockets or purses, and frequently become tangled or knotted. Another objection to the chain chaplet is that while it is well suited for use in the home or church, it cannot be conveniently used in public during private meditation and prayer.

The present invention may be said to reside generally in the provision of a prayerpiece for guiding persons in the accurate recitation of the rosary, as explained above, and so constructed and arranged as to eliminate the material objec- 0 tions to chain chaplets pointed out above; and to encourage more people to more frequently meditate on the mysteries of redemption by private devotion through recitation of the rosary in public places or conveyances during times of leisure.

45 I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing preferred forms of devices embodying the present invention on an enlarged scale, and

Figure l is a perspective view of one form of rosary;

50 Figure 2 is a top plan view of the devices of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a modified form of device;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device shown 55 in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a view illustrating the manner of holding and using a prayerpiece embodying the invention.

Referring to Figure l, the numeral 5 designates generally a block or pocket piece having four 5 elongated sides and two square ends, which may be formed of any desired material by molding or fashioning, either solid or hollow. One of the sides, designated by numeral 6, has formed thereon or attached thereto a crucifix l. The same 10 face has formed thereon or afiixed thereto spaced elements 3 and 9. The elements 8 and 9, as well as crucifix '5, preferably project outwardly beyond the face of side 6 sufliciently to be readily felt and distinguished when a thumb is placed 15 thereon or moved thereover, and the elements 8, representing the Our Father prayers of the rosary are preferably of different size and shape from the elements 9 representing the Hail Mary prayers of the rosary. 20

On the end ill of block 5, opposite to the end adjacent which the crucifix l is located, is an element l l representing and corresponding to the usual medal of a chain chaplet. The side l2 has arranged along and adjacent its longitudinal 5 edges parallel rows of elements 9 and 8, there being nine of the elements 9 in one row, and eight with one element 3 in the other. The arrangement of the elements 8 and 9 on the remaining sides (not shown) is continued in paral- 30 lel rows from top to bottom with two elements 8 and sixteen elements 9 on the side opposite the one on which the crucifix is located, and seventeen elements 9 and one element 8 on the side opposite side l2. Thus, the block or piece 35 5 is provided with all of the distinguishing elements of a chain rosary, comprising a crucifix, medal, and equivalents of the prayer beads.

It is important to note that the elements on which prayers are counted are so arranged as to permit an accurate count with facility simply by holding the piece in one hand, as illustrated in Figure 5, and moving the thumb along from end to end beginning with the crucifix on side 6 to medal ii, and then along the different rows of elements 8 and 9 on the other sides. After the prayer on the medal l l, the piece is turned onequarter turn in the hand, and the thumb is moved along the row of elements 9, nine in number on side l2 or the opposite side, then across the lower end to the one element 9 below the one element 8, and then upwardly. Qn the following sides the thumb continues down, across, and up movements until all of the elements corresponding to 55 beads of the usual chain type of chaplet have been told.

It should be clear from the foregoing that a complete rosary may be said with the aid of the chaplet as described without exposing the device to View, because the crucifix at one end of the row of elements on side 6 is so different from any other element as to be easily located by touch for the opening prayer. The grouping or arrangement of the elements in this row is entirely different than that of any other row, so that when the telling finger of the user again returns to this row he or she immediately knows that five complete decades of the rosary have been said.

In Figures 3 and 4, I have shown a modification of the form of the block or piece, which is circular in cross section shape instead of rectangular. The numeral l5 designates the piece corresponding to block 5, except in shape. The prayer indicating elements designated by primed numerals correspond to the elements designated by unprimed numerals in Figures 1 and 2. The method of holding the piece and telling the prayers and decades or mysteries is the same as previously described.

2,213,516 i re I claim:

A chaplet or prayer piece for telling the prayers of the rosary comprising a relatively small elongated block capable of being substantially enclosed in a human hand and to be turned in the hand by digits thereof, a plurality of prayer indicating elements on the sides of the block readable by the sense of touch, said elements being fixed in relation to said block and each other and arranged in spaced substantially parallel rows extending from adjacent one end of the block to adjacent the other end whereby the elements in each row may be successively contacted by a digit of the hand in which the block is held as said digit and the block are relatively moved to accomplish the telling, the elements in one of said rows being grouped or arranged differently than those in any of the other rows to clearly distinguish said one row from the others and indicate completion of the rosary; and an element at oneend of said one row clearly distinguishable from all of the other elements on the block for the opening prayer of the rosary.

MARTIN A. BEEHAN. 

